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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. bound — certain
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. date — the fruit
  6. wake — a trail
  7. march — the month
  8. swing — to play on
  9. pitch — completely
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bound — tied together
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. swing — music
  17. swing — in golf
  18. bear — the animal
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. bound — obliged
  24. chair — a leader

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com